By FARRAH JOHNSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
A HAITIAN woman who admitted travelling to the Bahamas on a wooden sloop was fined $300 on Friday.
Radca Auguste, 25, was arrested on February 2nd when on being approached by officers in Marsh Harbour, Abaco, she could not produce any legal documents to prove her status in the country,
The prosecution said that immigration officers, acting on instructions, proceeded to the Lynden Pindling International Airport to collect Auguste who had been arrested by police in Abaco. At the time, the accused did not have any identification to verify her nationality or status. However, when questioned, she told the immigration officers that she had travelled to the country on a Haitian sloop in 2017. The court was told that checks of the Immigration Department’s system did not reveal any records indicating legal entry, or applications showing that Auguste had made an effort to regularise her status.
After Auguste pleaded guilty to one count of illegal landing, Magistrate Samuel McKinney fined her $300 or one month at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.
Meanwhile, on Friday, a Jamaican woman who was also found residing in Abaco beyond the time granted to her by an immigration officer was fined $1,500.
Tasheba Barrett, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of overstaying, after she was found in Marsh Harbour with expired legal documents on February 2.
The court was told that after officers in Abaco had arrested Barrett, they handed her over to immigration officials on the island. When the officers made inquiries, they learned that Barrett had legally entered the country in February 2020 and was given permission to stay for one week. The prosecution said Barrett resided in the country for an additional 10 months and 27 days without making another application to extend her stay.
During the hearing, Barret told the magistrate she was sorry for overstaying her welcome. She was subsequently fined $1,500 or three months on remand.
Magistrate McKinney said once the fines for both women were paid they would be handed over to the director of immigration for deportation.
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